The invention generally relates to fluid processing systems and more particularly to an apparatus and method for increasing the level of dissolved oxygen in a fluid.
Oxygen enriched beverages have become more popular in recent years. Oxygenated sports drinks (including water) have sought to enhance athletic performance by increasing oxygen levels in the bloodstream of the consumer. Researchers are continuing to discover other non-athletic, physiological benefits of oxygenated beverages.
At standard temperature and pressure, oxygen exists in a gaseous state. Oxygen (O2) normally makes up about 21% of the air in the atmosphere. If oxygen is mixed with a liquid in an open container, the oxygen will migrate to the atmosphere when the mixture is at equilibrium. To preserve the oxygen content of the mixture, the mixture must be sealed before the oxygen migrates to the atmosphere.
There are various ways to transfer mass from a gas into a liquid. A first way is to provide a large liquid-gas boundary area through which gas may be absorbed into the liquid. A second way is to provide a driving force between the gas and liquid phases. The magnitude of the driving force directly correlates with the mass transfer rate. A third way is to increase the mass transfer coefficient by increasing the relative velocity between the interfacing gas and liquid phases, and to increase the turbulent mixing in the liquid phase.
There have been various patents issued for systems and methods for oxygenating liquids. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,008 issued to Littman et al. (Littman ""008) teaches a process for enriching a liquid with oxygen. The Littman ""008 process includes flowing the liquid through a pipe and injecting gaseous oxygen into the liquid. The mixture is then flowed through a nozzle to accelerate the flow to supersonic speeds. In returning to subsonic speeds, a shock wave is formed in the flow. The shock wave breaks up the bubbles of oxygen formed in the liquid. In creating the microscopic bubbles, the liquid-gas boundary surface area greatly increases and enhances the process of transferring mass from the gas into the liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,609 issued to Cheng et al. (Cheng ""609) teaches a process for producing oxygenated liquid. Cheng ""609 also teaches to mix ozone (O3) with the liquid prior to mixing the oxygen (O2) with the liquid. The ozone acts to destroy bacteria and remove the odor and harmful organic compounds that may be in the liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,292 issued to Zeisenis (Zeisenis ""292) teaches a process where oxygen is injected into a liquid. The liquid is moved downwardly through a vertically extending outer vortex and then back upwardly through a vertically extending inner vortex, and oxygen is introduced upstream or at the point of reversal. Zeisenis ""292 further teaches the oxygenated liquid to a magnetic field to induce a substantial Zeta potential. The Zeta potential, or electrokinetic potential, is a measure of a dispersion stability of charged particles in solution.
Although prior art systems may be found operable in producing oxygenated liquids, there remains a need for improvements to increase the oxygen concentration in oxygenated liquid and to increase the retention rates of oxygen within the liquid over time.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for increasing dissolved oxygen levels in a liquid.
In accordance with preferred embodiments, an oxygenation system includes a piping network, a pump or other pressure source to circulate the liquid through the piping network to create a flow stream, and a liquid source to provide the liquid to the piping network. Liquid passing through the piping network discharges from the pump and passes to an ozonator connected to the piping network for injecting gaseous ozone into the liquid. Colloidal minerals are injected into the liquid in a dwell chamber at a desired concentration.
The mixture of liquid and minerals flows into an oxygen injector connected to the piping network which injects gaseous oxygen into the liquid to form a two-phase flow stream. The mixture passes through a dispersal grid to more uniformly distribute the bubbles in the flow stream.
The two-phase flow stream is accelerated to supersonic speeds by a linear flow accelerator comprising a flat Venturi connected to the piping network and electromagnets positioned adjacent the flat Venturi. The Venturi has a substantially elliptically shaped internal cross-sectional area and opposing, substantially flat exterior surfaces. The electromagnets are disposed adjacent the substantially flat exterior surfaces and exert a force on the two-phase mixture in the direction of the flow.
The accelerated flow stream passes through a laminar flow grid to make the flow laminar as it reaches the bottling system, where the oxygenated liquid is bottled. Excess oxygenated liquid is collected and circulated back to the ozonator for reprocessing.
These and various other features and advantages that characterize the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon review of the associated drawings.